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 Based
in Los Angeles, California. Spirit was an American jazz/hard
rock/psychedelic band founded in 1967,The group's first album, Spirit, was released in 1968. "Mechanical World" was released as a single (it lists the playing time merely as "very long"). The album was a substantial underground hit, reaching #31 and staying on the charts for over eight months. The album displayed jazz influences, as well as using elaborate string arrangements (not found on their subsequent recordings) and is the most overtly psychedelic of their albums. They capitalized on the success of their first album with another single, "I Got A Line On You". Released in November 1968, a month before their second album, The Family That Plays Together, it became their biggest hit single, reaching #25 on the charts (#28 in Canada). The album matched its success, reaching #22. They also went on tour that year with support band Led Zeppelin, who were heavily influenced by Spirit -- Led Zeppelin played an extended medley during their early 1969 shows that featured "Fresh Garbage" among other songs, Jimmy Page's use of a theremin has been attributed to his seeing Randy California use one which he had mounted to his amplifier, and it is now widely accepted that Page lifted the descending guitar figure from Spirit's instrumental "Taurus" for Led Zeppelin's signature tune "Stairway To Heaven". After this success, the group was asked by French film director Jacques Demy to record the soundtrack to his film, Model Shop and they also made a brief appearance in the film. Their third album, Clear, released in 1969, reached #55 on the charts. Spirit were offered the spot right before Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, but they were advised to turn it down and concentrate on a promotional tour for their third album. Record company managers felt that the festival would not be significant, which it did not seem so at that time, and so they missed out on the massive international exposure that the festival and the subsequent film documentary generated. After the release of Clear, California was called upon again to give the group a hit single. With the group producing the record on their own, they  recorded a song California had
written called "1984". With a
title that echoed the George Orwell book of the same name, it was one
of California's finest, and it boasted an excellent production job (and
was one of the most ferocious things that Spirit would ever record).
And it looked at first like it would be the group's biggest hit yet.
Soon after being released, it raced up the charts to #69. Nobody is
completely sure why the single had such a brief chart life, but there
are several possibilities. It has also been said that there was a tip
sheet distributed to radio stations outlining the song's supposed
political and social views, and opining that it might not be
appropriate for air play . The song would finally see general release
on The Best of Spirit in 1973.In 1970, Spirit started working on what is widely considered to be their best LP, Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus. On the recommendation of Neil Young the band chose David Briggs as the producer. It was a prolific time for the group's writers and the album was finally released in late 1970. Especially memorable was Randy California's poignant "Nature's Way", which was written in an afternoon when the group was playing at the Fillmore West in San Francisco. Epic released an early mix of "Animal Zoo" as a single, but this only made it to #97 on the charts. Like The Who's Tommy and Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon, it is critically regarded as a landmark of art rock, with a tapestry of literary themes about the fragility of life and the complexity of the human experience, illustrated by recurring lyric "life has just begun", and continued the group's pioneering exploration of enviromnental issues in their lyrics ("Fresh Garbage"). The album is also notable for its inventive production and the use of a modular Moog synthesizer. After the group undertook a promotional tour to support the album Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus Ferguson and Andes left the group, forming Jo Jo Gunne. Bass player John Arliss initially took Andes' place, and California was still in the line-up, but he soon left the group and attempted a solo career. Eventually, two brothers named Al and John Staehely joined the band, and with Cassidy and Locke, recorded the 1972 album Feedback. It was a different turn for the group, showing more of a country-rock influence pervading their jazzier tendencies, but it also met with a mild commercial response, reaching #63 in the charts (the same position, ironically, that Sardonicus reached). The tour for Feedback eventually found both Cassidy and Locke leaving the lineup, with the Staehely brothers recruiting other musicians to fill their roles. While the tour was well received critically, Spirit disbanded in early 1973. The brothers would release their own album, Sta-Hay-Lee, in 1973. California, meanwhile, had recorded and issued his first solo album, Kapt. Kopter and the (Fabulous) Twirly Birds, in late 1972. It featured appearances by Noel Redding (as 'Clit McTorius'), Leslie Sampson (the drummer from Noels band Road, as 'Henry Manchovitz') and Cassidy and had a hard rock sound. After launching a brief tour to support the album, a follow-up album was recorded with Cassidy, entitled The Adventures Of Kaptain Kopter And Commander Cassidy In Potato Land. Though Locke made a guest appearance, it was not intended as a Spirit album at the time. Epic however rejected the completed album, and California moved to Molokai, Hawaii. Epic Records decided to re-issue the group's first and third, and second and fifth, albums as two-fers in 1973, in response to Sardonicus continuing to sell well, despite being off of the charts. They also issued a compilation album, The Best Of Spirit, that year, as well as releasing the Sardonicus track "Mr. Skin" as a single. Surprisingly, "Mr. Skin" became a minor hit, and one of the two-fers hit the charts (along with The Best Of Spirit), and there was new demand for the group. Cassidy decided to capitalize on this and put together an entirely new group for touring purposes which lasted throughout the year. In 1974 Cassidy made it a point to find California and re-establish contact. He eventually persuaded California to return to the mainland and give the band another shot. Andes worked with the duo for a while, but never intended to stay, as he was in the process of working with the group Firefall at the same time. Sound engineer/bassist Barry Keene, who had been a personal sound engineer for Frank Zappa, joined the band as its bass player. In early 1975, the group was supposed to be the opening act for Ten Years After at a show in Florida, but when Ten Years After backed out at the last minute, Spirit was granted permission to take over the theatre for the evening. After going around to local radio stations to promote the show and setting a low ($3) ticket price, Spirit managed to sell out the 3,000 seat theatre. After Spirit's demise, California put together another group with the intent of re-starting his solo career. This was short-lived, but while in England, a fan presented him with a petition of 5,000 signatures, requesting the release of the Potato Land album from 1973. In 1981, California put out a half-hearted version of the album, featuring only part of the original album (and what was there featured overdubbing done after the fact) with the addition of a few unrelated songs that were recorded in the late 1970s. It was released in the U.S. by Rhino Records (being one of the first albums that they released) and in England by Beggars Banquet Records, where it actually reached #40 in the UK Albums Chart (the only time they would chart in England), possibly due to the album being played by BBC Radio 1. California's second solo album, Euro-American, was released in 1982 by Beggar's Banquet. He would release two more solo albums during the decade. In December 1982, the original Spirit line-up reformed and recorded several songs from their first four albums (as well as a few new tracks) live on a soundstage. Though the album Spirit of '84 was initially recorded for an audiophile label, Mercury Records re-signed the band (and gave California a solo deal) and released the album in 1984. Despite the fact that all five original members were on the recording, and MTV played the video, the album was only a moderate success. Some of the original members went to do other projects, but California and Cassidy continued touring with new members Scott Monahan on keys and Dave Waterbury on bass. California headed to England and recorded his third solo album, the contemporary hard rock Restless, in late 1985. Following a few live dates in England, California returned to the United States and resumed touring extensively with Cassidy, Monahan and Waterbury. There was one more solo album from California; a collection of material entitled Shattered Dreams that was released in 1986. California secured a deal with IRS Records, and Locke re-joined the band. They recorded an album in 1988 entitled Rapture in the Chambers, but it failed to return them to the charts. The group self-released Tent Of Miracles in 1990 and set off on almost continually working for the next six years. Though they would release very few albums of new material during the decade, the group was always either recording or touring. California had his own home recording studio since the early 1980s, though he had been making home recordings for years prior to that. Sadly, this renewed vigor came to an end on January 2, 1997, when California drowned off the coast of Hawaii. He had been surfing with his son, who got caught in a riptide. He managed to push his son to safety, but ended up losing his own life. Though Cassidy did play a few dates with some former Spirit alumni under the name "Spirit Revisited" in 1998, California's death was effectively the end of the group. California's passing, however, did not mark the end of the emergence of Spirit material. Starting in 2000, there have been five collections of previously unreleased studio and live material, four of which were two-CD sets. California had also prepared an anthology of material from the group's first stint with Mercury Records before he died entitled The Mercury Years. The two-CD set was released in early 1997, though it raised the ire of some fans who did not care for the fact that some of the material had been re-edited or featured overdubbing that was not present on the original releases. Likewise, nearly all of Spirit's original albums are currently in print in CD. This is thanks to the efforts of Sony Records (with the Epic catalog, though Collector's Choice Music was the first to reissue Feedback on CD in the U.S., following a brief release on disc in France in the late 1990s) and Beat Goes On alongside Edsel, both UK labels (with the Mercury catalog, some of which had made it to CD prior to Beat Goes On and Edsel reissuing all of their Mercury albums). Their later independent albums are available through the group's website. The one album that is unavailable at this time is Rapture In The Chambers, which has not been reissued since the original release, though it was released on CD at that time. Spirit has also found its work sampled by modern artists several times. The most notable of these was the "Extra P. Remix" of the song "Resurrection" by Common (which samples "Ice" from Clear) and "Feel Good Time" by Pink (which samples the track "Fresh Garbage"). success
Spirit's 1969 album The Family that Plays Together was a top-20 success
and contained Spirit's biggest hit, I Got a Line on You. A
year
later, Spirit released one of the most critically acclaimed albums in
the history of rock music. The Twelve Dreams of Dr.
Sardonicus. It contained the song Nature's Way, which has
become
an anthem for a generation, expressing Randy's strong feelings for the
earth and it's inhabitants. Nature's Way has been re-recorded
by
more than 20 artists and used in many films.The original Spirit broke up after it's initial success, but Randy and Cass would forge ahead with a collection of compelling works and some wonderful new musicians and albums. Potatoland was Randy's first album under the nom de plume of Kaptain Kopter, followed by Kaptain Kopter and His Fabulous Twirlybirds, and a couple of solo efforts. Subsequently, Spirit resurfaced on Mercury records with albums like Spirit of '76 and Future Games. In recent years, Randy and Cass continued to tour the United States and Europe to very enthusiastic crowds, releasing the records Rapture in the Chambers for IRS Records, and Tent of Miracles. Randy produced both records. In 1992, the band released a Spirit compilation, Time Circle, and was close to releasing a very interesting new blues disc called California Blues at the time of Randy's death. Randy's death
 On
January 2, 1997, the world lost one of it's most passionate
songwriters, guitarists and vocalists. He was a man who
touched
millions of lives across five continents with his music and his special
spirituality. Randy California was hailed as one of
the
world's best guitarists by renowned players like Eric Clapton and Ted
Nugent. His songwriting resulted in such timeless material as
I
Got a Line on You, Nature's Way, 1984, Dark Eyed Woman, Prelude/Nothin'
to Hide, and many more. Those who worked with him in the
studio
thought his layered harmonies and singing abilities were his greatest
commercial strength.Despite Randy's many talents, this was a man known as much for his human kindness as his abilities. His thousands of loyal fans span the world, and they were perhaps least surprised that Randly California saved his son, Quinn, from drowning before being carried out to sea on that fateful day in Molokai. At age 46, Randy had led a heroic and difficult life. Attracted as a child to music and specifically the blues by his uncles, Randy became a child phenomenon who would perform at the age of 14 with Jimi Hendrix, who he met in a New York record store. Randy joined Jimmy James and the Blue Flames for five sets a night in Greenwich Village. It was Jimi who gave Randy his last name, (Randy Wolfe being his real name). When Jimi left for England he asked Randy to go with him, but Randy's mother felt he was too young, and moved the family back to California. In 1968, Randy embarked on a musical journey that would be the focus of his musical career for the rest of his life. He formed the band Spirit with bass player Mark Andes, keyboardist John Locke, vocalist Jay Ferguson, and his then-stepfather and close confidant, Ed Cassidy. Without question, Randy California deserves his place as a legendary rock figure. Playing guitar solos with his teeth or slide guitar with a beer bottle, writing some of the most poigant lyrics in music history, and sending a shiver up your spine with his soaring vocals, (not to mention arm-wrestling at times with members of the audience), Randy cared about his music, his family, his friends and his fans. His Spirit will live on in countless ways. He will always be missed. |
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![The Best of Spirit [Bonus Tracks] 2003](http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj40/rockisrighton/Spirit/spirit-best-of-spirit2003.gif "The Best of Spirit [Bonus Tracks] 2003")
![Family That Plays Together [Bonus Tracks] 2007](http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj40/rockisrighton/Spirit/spirit-the-family2007.gif "Family That Plays Together [Bonus Tracks] 2007")
